Report: Suns to visit head coach candidate Monty Williams on Friday

By Logan Newman | April 25, 2019 at 12:31 pmUPDATED: April 25, 2019 at 12:53 pm

Assistant coach Monty Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on against the Brooklyn Nets in Game Two of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on April 15, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The Phoenix Suns are reportedly set to visit their top head coach candidate.

Team officials will travel to Toronto to meet with Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Monty Wiliams on Friday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The 76ers will be playing against the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Phoenix fired head coach Igor Kokoskov late Monday night. According to Wojnarowski, the timing of the decision was in part due to the team’s interest in hiring Williams as he prepared for his second interview with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Suns “appear determined to preempt a Lakers offer,” Wojnarowski reported. The Lakers’ second interview with Williams is Thursday night.

Suns general manager James Jones said that Kokoskov had initially been hired to lead a team that had veterans, but focus shifted to the young core. Player development didn’t translate to wins as Phoenix finished a 19-63 record.

The remainder of Kokoskov’s coaching staff was fired Tuesday.

On that same day, the Suns were granted permission by the 76ers to interview Williams.

Williams went 173-221 as the New Orleans Pelicans head coach from 2010-15 and made the playoffs two of the five years.